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SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Wake up to the rock tappers dawn chorus. We decide to take Dhana and Chitra for a coffee at Everest Bakery as a goodwill gesture before we start todays walk (we think they spotted us there yesterday and were a bit put out). Actually I can't take the credit for the idea- it was Mary's- she is much nicer than me. Anyway, it ended up being just Dhana, Chitra had already started without us. It was a good idea, the coffee was good and it made for an amicable start to the day. Big downhill day again today. We actually took a back track out of the town through the pine forest which was nice. decided to collect some trash on the way- most common throw on the ground item were the yellow coconut biscuit wrappers followed by individual lolly wrappers. We also collected lots of chew tobacco pouches, banana chewing gum wrappers and razor 5 blades. Deposited them all in an actual rubbish bin on the side of the track. Rubbish is such a problem in Nepal, there are efforts to provide bins in some areas but they are few and far between. We join the
main trail and the foot traffic is noticeably heavier, lots of porters and very clean trekkers. Spring has hit the trail big time. Lots of flowers- red rhododenron, pink daphne and purple primula, lots of birds- Whistling Thrush, Scaly Bellied Woodpecker and some sort of Babbler. Very nice.
Only about 5 uphill segments this morning- very easy walking. We passed the mandarin/orange sellers again and bought another mandarin each. Had another last look at Everest from behind the trees. Chatted to a French couple from Angle in my impecable French accent- actually I only said hello in French- that is the extent of my repertoire. Mary managed some sentences and they replied back in very good English. We also bumped into the Gokyo Lake Brazilians - i like that we have seen some repeat faces along the way. Arrived into Jorsale at 1130 for lunch at Nirvana Garden, said hello to Callum Maxwell for the third time in 2 1/2 weeks. It was still sunny. The lemon was still exceptionally good. The cat still has worms. Left there and continued on downhill. Even more trekkers and porters are on the trail. I find myself thinking how much I enjoyed
the timing of our trek- few people but enough to still have a nice time meeting others. We are treated to some beautiful mountain views on the way back down. The Kosi Koti river seems fuller. The trees are greener. Very spring.
Stopped for another cup of tea in Tok Tok, I think we were delaying the inevitable end to another perfect day actually. Had a chat to some guys from The Yukon in Canada and offered up health care tips and some worldly advice on places to stay, etc, etc. The last part of our afternoon was pretty slow despite its downhill nature. We encountered multiple traffic jams with competing yak trains/porters/large Korean tour groups, etc. Arrived back into Phakding around 4pm- back to Tashi Tagey Lodge- same room, water running, nice to be back. Phone reception is back so I top up my Nepali SIM and get some texts from home. Spend a pleasant evening sitting closely around the wood stove chatting to the other tourists (all heading up)- twins from Alberta, Canada about to turn 50, and Mark from Ann Arbor, Michigan. We have a big dinner - indulge in dessert and waddle off to bed.
It's hard to get to sleep. Not ready for trek 1 to be over. I am tempted to turn around and walk back the way again. So glad we have another trek coming up.
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